also the morning commute looks good on north and southbound 880 as you pass the coliseum. let's go back to the desk. we begin with breaking news this morning. several businesses were damaged overnight in a massive fire at a union city strip mall. ktvu channel 2 reporter claudine wong is out there at the scene with exclusive video of the fire as well as some information on a firefighter who was hurt. claudine. >> reporter: that firefighter is okay. this is a very active scene out here. let me give you a look at what is going on. you can see all the water used to fight this fire out in front filling like a parking lot. firefighters still there. they just turned off the aerial hoses. if you want to get a good idea where this fire started all you have to do is look into the corner. that is where the area is they think this fire actually started. at its height this fire was  huge. i want to show you video of the fire. you can see the flames shooting

out of the roof of this strip mall. firefighters tell me this all started just after 1:00. someone drove by and saw smoke. when they got out here they realized they were dealing with a much bigger situation. this fire has been burning for some time but had been hidden in the attic. when they opened up the roof, that's is what they got these huge flames coming up and out. there were 50 firefighters out here fighting this fire. there are two apartment complexes behind this strip mall. one of them did have to be evacuated. >> we were asleep and one of my dogs started barking. the next thing we know we were looking outside and the lights were flashing. the whole back half of the building was on fire. literally flames shooting way up in the air and it was actually pretty intense.

>> reporter: firefighters tell me they were worried the fire could spread there but they were able to stop it before it moved anywhere. and they got the fire under control in about 90 minutes. it is out now but but there is hot spots. there is still spots they are looking for. there is a partial roof collapse they are dealing with. at this point they are just watching the scene. some business owners have come back and watched this all take place. and they say they are going to make it through this. >> we'll be okay. we'll be back on our feet in a matter of time >> okay the situation is now. again we talked about the partial roof collapse. they are waiting for daylight so they could get the firefighters in there. they did have a firefighter that was hurt. but he has since been released from the hospital and doing just fine. taking a live look we are back at the scene. a couple things that helped in this situation. a firewall. there is one on the far side. if you pan over here you can

see the dentist sign there is a firewall there. you can see firefighters near the corner of that building now. they will be out here for awhile. one firefighter told me we plan for worst case scenarios in terms of how fires spread. this is one of the worst cases where it was in the roof and going. they will take us a little closer to take a look at the damage we'll bring that video to you coming up on the morning news. live in union city i'm claudine wong. it's official ross mirkarimi will get back to work as san francisco's sheriff that is after a late night vote by supervisors that ended a month long legal ordeal. tara moriarty joins us now from outside city hall with a break down of the vote and reaction from all sides. tara. >> reporter: mayor ed lee needed nine of the 11 supervisors in order to out mirkarimi but only seven voted to do so. the fact that john airflows and

compo may not have come as a surprise but jane kim and christina that came as a shocker to many. >> given that motion required nine votes in order to pass the motion does not approve. the charges are not sustained. [ cheering and applause ] >> reporter: mirkarimi supporters cheered the decision that came after nine hours of presentations from both sides. the supervisors voted against permanently removing mirkarimi from office for official misconduct. he will receive back pay and says he's ready to work. >> right now it's about moving forward. we want to mend fences with all parties. i look forward to demonstrating why the people elected me as sheriff. >> finally. [ inaudible ]

we have our sheriff back finally. >> reporter: now in march mayor ed lee suspended the sheriff without pay after the embattled chair pled guilty to a domestic charge. supervisor compo said it was a tough decision but it was all about looking at the law. combing up we will tell you mayor ed lee's response to the outcome. overnight news a 17-year- old girl is fighting for her life this morning after being stabbed multiple times in san francisco's mission district.

police say the girl was attacked on vileness yeah and 21st streets just after 7:00 last night. at this point no arrests have been made. there was a fight just before the stabbing in the same area and police have trying to determine whether there was a connection between the two incidents. firefighters are look into the cause of a fire that left three people homeless in san jose. that happened at 6:40 last night on fawn drive. three adults that lived in the home got out safely. they are looking for a place to live now. firefighters believe the fire started in an outdoor shelving unit. fire investigators are looking for an arsonist that targeted a west san jose area. at least eight suspicious fires have been set in dumpsters and bushes in that area. >> as you can see they are close to the homes.

you have cars in these garages if garages go up cars inside them can go up and it will be like a chain reaction. >> police plan to step up patrols in the area. firefighters are asking neighbors to report any suspicious activity. time now 4:46. a stanford professor is one of two americans awarded the no -- nobel prize. this morning toyota announced it is recalling millions of cars for potential fire hazard. coming up at 4:45 what single part is responsible for many different models now considered dangerous. there is still hope for the giants and the a's.

a's center field cocoa crisp stole a home run. even though the a's are still down two they remain confident. >> we are going to sleep on it. >> bunch of no name players that have been koa lessed in there. >> on the downside a few dozen fans left without seeing the game because of confusion over tickets. they had tickets for what nay thought was game number three but were actually for home game number three. last night was game three in the series. but home game number one. the a's play the tigers at 6:37 tonight. bouncing ball rolling off the chest. bobbles. >> the giants also still alive despite striking out 16 times.

game four starts at 1:07 this afternoon pacific time. right now 4:38. time to check in with sal for an early look at traffic. hi sal. >> good morning. boy, that was quite a night for bay area baseball. let's go outside. i do want to mention one thing before we go to the pictures actually. we have a little bit of breaking news in richmond. there has been a fire of brookside drive. it was palettes and outdoor things in a lot. we'll get video coming up. we are still getting details. we'll let you know about that straight ahead. let's go out and take a look at westbound 24. that looks good. eastbound 24 near lafayette there is a car that slammed into the center divide. and this mornings commute is looking good on the bay bridge. it is nice and early. there are no major problems coming into the city. and the morning commute on

northbound 280 getting up to highway 17 that traffic looks very nice all the way into the valley. right now is a good time to go in the south bay. let's go to steve. sal, thank you. mother nature putting on a show. as we said yesterday i had showers by the coast. last time i looked half-moon bay was by the coast and the wrap around moving into lake county. that's what happened last night. and then there is also a ban produce lightning high based lightning. san mateo coast. so it's there. associated with that low. when i say not the first rain of the season. i mean the first one to the north where everyone gets it. that is still not in the cards. what is in the cards are clouds, showers and occasionally lightning from this little guy right there. but the flow around that goes from east to coast. some of that could clip areas. anybody is in line today. it's one of those wait five

minutes. now the forecast for cloud and rain it really is more clouds than anything else. but occasionally you can get pretty good thundershower activity. clouds, shower, partly sunny. forecasted highs i think identical to yesterday. 60s and 70s. a very mild pattern by the coast. so sun, clouds, shower. partly sunny and cloudy. then clearing the weekends looking much calmer and a little warmer pamela. >> thank you, steve. time is 4:41. an important supreme court case involving college admissions begins today. it could change the future of who gets in and who does not. and the heroic actions that saved a father and two young children from a burning car. good morning. westbound 24 traffic looks pretty good driving up to the tunnel. we'll tell you more about the morning commute and the bay weather.

good morning. for some it's mostly clear. for others there is thunder and lightning. highs today the same as yesterday. 60s and 70s. later today congress will exam whether the u.s. ignored warnings of insufficient security at the u.s. consulate in libya. four americans including northern california native ambassador chris stevens was killed during the september 11th attack. security officer team who was pulled weeks before the attack will testify that higher ups at the state department rebuffed his pleas for more security. the man behind the antiislamic film innocence of muslims which sparked violence around the world is expected to appear in a los angeles court today. mark yusuf was convicted in 2010 of bank fraud.

prosecutors want his probation revoked. they claim he lied to probation officers and uses aliases. the officer that shot and killed allen blueford will not face any charges. blueford was shot during a police pursuit back in may after investigators say he pointed a gun at the officer. the family and attorney dispute that blueford had a gun. 4:45 is the time. a teenager accused of attempted murder stealing a celebrity chef lamborghini will be back in court tomorrow. he is accused of a drive by shooting in april that targeted two other teenagers from mill valley. yesterday was the first day of his preliminary hearing to determine if he should stand trial. >> my client is entitled to a fair trial and due process. i think he's exercising his

rights to the fullest. >> he is also charged with the theft of celebrity chef's lamborghini know. the supreme court will hear arguments today in the case that would have big impacts on college tuition. caucasian student sued the university of texas claiming she was denied admission due to her race. the supreme court upheld the use of affirmative action in college admissions in 2003 but the court has become conservative and could restrict or end the use of race as a factor in admissions. mitt romney continues campaigning today in the battleground state of ohio. new jersey governor will once again join romney. a comment romney made about abortion is getting some attention this morning. romney told the des moines register that he would not pursue any abortion related election if elected president but he would use an executive

order to reinstate a policy that bans american funding of abortions in other countries. president obama is back at the white house today after also campaigning in ohio yesterday. the president has a meeting scheduled with secretary of state hillary clinton following the congressional hearing look into the attack on the u.s. consulate in libya. then he heads back out on the campaign in florida. the largest battleground state. 4:47. in oakland a father and his two toddlers are safe. that is thanks to quick thinking of three people that noticed his car was on fire. a man drove into the trader joe's parking lot around 5:45 last night with flames and spoke shooting out of his car. man helped the driver escape while two women grabbed the 18- year-old babies in the backseat. >> they said somebody get the kids. we realized there was kids in the car. you couldn't see them. >> no one was hurt. investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the

car to catch fire. toyota is recalling over 7.5 million cars because of a fire hazard. it includes the camry, corolla, and matrix the zion xa and xd models. tundra pickup. rav 4, highlander, anise coy yeah suvs are on the recall. more than 2.5 million of the recall vehicles were sold here in the u.s.. owners of effected cars should contact their dealers. all right coming up ten minutes to 5:00 let's check in with sal for a look at traffic. hopefully no problems. >> nothing major right now as you look at the freeways here. traffic is doing pretty well around the bay area. as a matter of fact, let's take a look at the east shore freeway and the traffic here looks pretty good on 80 westbound getting out to the

mccarthur maze. a nice looking drive. also the toll plaza commute we watch that very closely. right now is a good time to go into the city with no issues. the morning drive on northbound 280 this traffic looks pretty good as you drive into the valley. 4:49 let's go to steve. thank you very much. our system is behaving exactly like we thought it would. it's kind of hit and miss. some have thunder and lightning. some to the north. the low moves south it's like a little spokes within the wheel. there is also a couple along the subpoena senator mccain coast and the santa cruz coastline. now the low is moving very, very slowly. sun, clouds, tropical showers. everything comes back in from east to west. it will probably paint more the santa clara valley. but also off toward the sacramento valley back east. 40s and 50s on the temps. the low continues to rotate here and again it's wobbling south.

it's in the picture today. our cloud forecast and rain forecast actually keeps more clouds then rain in here. it's tough to pick up on isolated showers. and occasionally showers will pop up anywhere. by tonight the system will be i think santa clara valley south. 60s and 70son the temps today -- 70s on the temps today. not much of a change. could be a few isolated showers on thursday. weekend looking better pam. thank you. well outraged and embarrassed. the humiliation a leukemia patient said she suffered when she was trying to take the last trip of her life. the reason behind a delicate operation to catch a sea lion.

she asked agents refused her request for a private

screening. >> when somebody wants to take a trip especially what i call an end of life trip because you want to see your family and friends, then it becomes even more important than just taking a trip. >> the tsa says they should have contacted them directly. the agency acknowledges refusing the private security screening does violate its policies. federal government is suing wells fargo for mortgage fraud. the bank did not properly under write more than 100,000 loans it certified at lfh insurance. it points to the bonus system that rewarded employees based on the number of loans it approved. chevron says a key crude unit that catched fire will remain offline until the end of the year. that could have an effect on gas prices. the august fire and a power outage at a southern california refinery have been blamed for

causing gas prices to skyrocket here in california. chevron says its u.s. oil production fell by 92-barrels a day. 4:54 is the time. sal is keeping an eye on traffic. what are you looking at? >> we wanted to look at san francisco. i just saw it there in san francisco and i'm looking at my monitor and it's completely black. that is because of the fog. there is clouds there. we will skip that picture of our camera. to look at 101. we'll ask steve about that. we will go to the east shore freeway first and show you that traffic here looks pretty good on 80 westbound as you come across the bridge. now the picture in san francisco keeps going in and out. if we get it back i'll show it to you. let's move along to the san mateo and dumbarton bridge the traffic looks good here.

i guess right now is good as any to ask steve about the fog. we have a bigger story about that. >> what is that? >> the lightning. actually from nevada over the spine the crest of the sierra all of this was discussed yesterday. we said showers by the coast and that wrap around could hit lake county. that is what is happening as the low moves south within the low our little systems and spins in the atmosphere. coming right off san mateo coast and monterey. atmosphere is a little unstable. a little unstable. possibility that more thundershowers today. 40s and 50s on the temps. this low son the way to southern california as it drifts south it will take its cloud cover with us. lightning and fog out there. there is plenty going on. 60s and 70s on the temps. a little unstable today for

that atmosphere. sun clouds shower. it looks much better with the weekend always in view. >> thank you. dramatic rescue on san francisco's pier 39 as wildlife experts try to free a sea lion. >> so they could remove the fishing line. >> they are deadly because these guys are real serious and will look at it and nose it. >> the sea lion is recovering at the marine mammal center. a second sea lion was spotted with debris around its neck but was scared by a tour boat and disappeared in the water. coming up a south bay professor earned a prestigious honor. we continue to following this mornings breaking news. a firefighter hurt battling that massive fire.

how firefighters believe this all began.

firefighters still on the scene here at a huge fire at a union city strip mall. we will show you the flames and give you a look